Manually loaded cord reeling device

ABSTRACT

A spring-loaded drum rotates around a post attached between a cap and a base. A cord retaining clip and surrounding cord receiving slot on the reel admits and secures a mid portion of an existing cord. As the drum turns it winds up the cord from the center in a double coil. A top and a bottom coil on opposite sides of the drum guide an attached cord extending end in the top half and the bottom half of the drum respectively.

CLAIM OF PROVISIONAL APPLICATION RIGHTS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/566,367, filed on Apr. 29, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for winding a cord, andmore particularly, a stand alone self-winding cord reel to receive anydesired cord loaded into the reel by a user, which cord reel requires aminimum of material in fabrication and provides an easy-to-use cordwinding reel allowing a cord to be fully wound into the reel orpartially wound to a desired length.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Cords for hands free sets for cell phones and earphones for portableelectronic devices are notorious for getting tangled. If the cord is notused, the cord and attached elements are bunched up and stowed in apocket, purse, glove compartment or elsewhere. Then, when taking out thecord to use it again, since the cord is twisted or entangled, the userneeds to untangle the cord, thereby causing inconvenience or even damageto the device connected to the cord.

While hands free listening devices (and microphones) are normallyincluded with electronic listening equipment, such as music players, andlistening/talking equipment, such as cell phones, and need not bepurchased separately, the prior art wind-up reels for such cords arenormally loaded at the factory with the reel-makers own cord andlistening (and speaking) devices, thereby requiring an expensivepurchase of a second cord which is not needed since the user normallyhas a free cord with the purchased electronic equipment. The onlyavailable cord winding reels available for the user's existing cord seemto be spools for cord management which require that the cord belaboriously wound and unwound by hand with each use.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,346, issued May 18, 2004 to Young-Kyu Park, putsforth an apparatus for winding a cord, and more particularly, anapparatus for winding a cord, in which a winding operation and a windstopping operation are performed by pulling the cord of anear-microphone of a portable cordless telephone. The cord winding andthe wind stopping operations can be performed by a cord pullingoperation without a separate operation of a release button, therebyproviding convenience to the user. Further, while the ball is movedalong the guide grooves, the winding and stopping operations areperformed. Therefore, the ball functions as a moving bearing upon arotation operation of the bobbin so that the bobbin is facilely rotated,thereby preventing an erroneous operation of the apparatus. The problemwith U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,346 is that when retracted, the cord sometimesfalls off of the outer coil and then gets stuck when the cord is pulledout.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,515, issued Sep. 02, 2003 to Thomas C. Tinucci, JohnC. Holman, and Trevor D. Smith details a ribbon cable storage spool,tray and method of use. The spool comprising a center post and aplurality of radially extending top and bottom fins. The spool may alsocomprise a guide wall, a ribbon retention tab, a channel wall defining achannel and a ledge, and an oblong shape. The tray comprising a bottomplate and a sidewall which act together to define a spool chamber forreceiving the spool. The bottom plate may also define holes such thatthe bottom fins of the spool are coplanar with the bottom plate when thespool is placed in the tray. The bottom plate may also include a columnto be received by the channel of the spool. The channel and column mayinclude a tongue and groove arrangement for preventing rotation of thespool relative to the tray. The column may also include a flexible clipfor retaining the spool in the tray. A method for winding a length ofcable onto a spool without twisting the wires including the steps ofcrossing two lengths of the loop, first-flipping the spool,second-flipping the spool, and repeating these steps until the length ofthe loop is wound around the spool.

U.S. patent application No. 20020040945A1, filed Sep. 25, 2001 by GeorgeStepancich, concerns a retractable cable reel assembly that has a springloaded cable reel which attaches to a midpoint of a cable and whenrotated by the spring, winds both ends of the cable up on the cablereel. A releasable detent arrangement is used to retain a desired amountof cable extending from the assembly.

U.S. patent application No. 20050006517A1, filed Sep. 30, 2003 by JoseWei, illustrates a winding device of a winding wheel and a wire thatincludes an elastically rotatable turning wheel having a flexiblyconnected fixed shaft, wheel breadths defining a left wheel breadth anda right wheel breadth, and a continuous wire defining left and rightwires. A number of rounds of the left wire winded at the left wheelbreadth is at least one more than that of the right wire winded at theright wheel breadth, such that when the left and right wires arereleased from the left and right wheel breadths to reach outer deadcenters thereof, at least one round of basic coil of the left wire stilltightly binds around the left wheel breadth and remains unreleased. Thewire (signal wire) is prevented from damages and displacements resultedfrom shear force between the wire and wedge apertures at the wheelbreadths when repeatedly withdrawn and pulled thereof.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,530, issued Feb. 08, 2005 to Jose Wei, shows acoaxial wire storage wheel device that includes a wire storage turningwheel having a uniform diameter, a center hole jointed to a uni-axialportion, and a wheel plane distinguished into left and right wheelplanes; a spiral spring having a bottom end thereof connected to theaxial portion and an outer end thereof connected to the wheel plane ofthe wire storage turning wheel; a communication wire fastened at thewheel plane to form upper and lower wires; and a right wall body havingan inner wall plane fixed to the axial portion inserted through a leftwall body, and a wire storage groove formed at the left and right wheelplanes. The wire storage groove is for winding and storing the upper andlower wires, thereby releasing the upper wire at the turning wheel withequal length and distance as those of the lower wire beingsimultaneously released.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,640, issued Jun. 29, 1999 to Hendrik Sjirk Wagter,Ralph Stuyver, Joop Hakker, describes a reel for winding up andunwinding surplus cable, comprising a first housing part and a secondhousing part which are connected together as to be able to rotate withrespect to one another about a common axis and together enclose achamber for receiving the cable. The reel includes a central memberpresent in the chamber with each housing part having a free rim whichextends in a plane perpendicular to the axis, with the housing partseach comprising a slot which extends as far as the free rim. During thewinding operation, a cable part which extends through the two slots intothe chamber is pulled further into the chamber by rotating the housingparts with respect to one another and is thereby wound around thecentral member. The housing parts are connected to one another by meansof a connection which is releasable via an operating member.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,898, issued Sep. 10, 2002 to Lih-Jiuan Hwang, claimsa wire collector, designed for auto reeling of communication wire,having a shell body with a wire reel, an elastic element, and othercomponent members in the interiors. The wire reel enables the lower endof the wire to pass through the front end of the shell body, while theupper end of the wire will pass through the rear end of the shell body.The reel is connected to an elastic element. In use, communication wirewill no longer tangle in a disorderly manner when the wire collector isbeing rolled, and users will be able to pull out the front end of thecommunication wire or enable it to be reeled in automatically by theelastic element to make the entire operation easy and convenient.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,175, issued Jul. 14, 1998 to Reiji Shirahasediscloses a cording reel device for winding up a cording of anelectronic appliance from a section thereof intermediate its oppositeends. A first constraint plate is divided to define a cording insertionslot, with two divided halves of the plate being integrally connectedtogether by a connecting portion. Coupling shaft segments are engagedwith a circular hole in a second constraint plate to couple together thetwo constraint plates for relative rotation. Reel shaft segmentsoutstand from the first constraint plate outside of the coupling shaftsegments. An annular frame member is interposed between and along theouter peripheries of the constraint plates and affixed integrally to thesecond constraint plate. The frame member is formed with opposedinlet/outlets. In use, with the opposite ends of the insertion slotaligned with the inlet/outlets, an intermediate section of a cording isthreaded through the slot between the opposed inlet/outlets, and thenrelative rotation of the constraint plates will reel in the cordingsection.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,708, issued May 23, 2000 to Kazuo Matsubara,provides a cord winder for winding a cord comprising a first structurehaving a bottomed cylindrical shape and a second structure rotatablyheld in the first structure. The second structure includes a circularbase portion, a center cylindrical stud raised on a center of thecircular base portion and radially extending ribs formed on an outersurface of the center cylindrical stud. The ribs are arranged toconstitute a bobbin structure. The first and second structures areprovided with a cord inserting groove through which the cord can be ledto the bobbin structure when the first and second structures takemutually coincident positions. The cord is wound on the bobbin structurewhen relative rotation takes place between the first and secondstructures. A braking structure is employed for braking the relativerotation when an external force is applied to the first and secondstructures to induce the relative rotation. The braking structureincludes a curved toothed structure connected to one of the first andsecond structures and a resilient projection possessed by the other ofsaid first and second structures. The projection is resiliently engagedwith the toothed member.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,938, issued Feb. 20, 1990 to Donald G Cantley andCamie Alexander, shows an electrical cord retractor that includes aclosed hollow case separate from any apparatus with which an electricalcord will be used. Within the case is a winder, such as a rotatablespool, and the case is openable to permit an electrical cord to be woundupon the spool. The case wall has passageways through which anelectrical cord can pass from the spool within the case to the exteriorof the case, so that the cord can be connected to an apparatusindependent of the case. The passageway may be slots which extend to afree edge of the case wall, so that after an electrical cord is wound onthe spool, portions of the electrical cord extending from the spool canbe inserted into the slots as the case is closed. The spool has a cordguide, in the form of a slot, extending from the external face of one ofthe spool flanges into the spool hub. A portion of an electrical cord isheld stationary in the slot so that as the spool is rotated theremainder of the cord is wound upon the spool. The slot in the spool isarranged at an acute angle to the planes of the spool flanges, so thatas the spool is rotated, the two portions of the cord extending from theslot will be wound on different sections of the spool hub. Within thecase is a spring, constantly urging the spool to rotate in onedirection, and a latch for releasably locking the spool againstrotation.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,281, issued Jun. 09, 1998 to Foley, Michael,describes an automatically loading cord reel device which includes acord reel housing, a rotatably contained spool with indexing slots, anda coiled spring which is coupled to said spool. A spring loaded indexinglever interacts with the indexing slots on the spool. The spool ispre-wound a fixed number of turns and the pre-wound device includes anexposed portion of a cord attachment device which is attached to thespool and extends out from a cord reeling aperture in the reel housing.The embodied cord attachment device includes a tongue-shaped strip offlexible material with a circular aperture and connected distallyextending slot formed therethrough the exposed end portion of thetongue. A locking pin aperture also extends through the exposed portionof the tongue for receiving a locking pin. The pre-wound spool isthereby held in place by the locking pin to prevent unwinding. To usethe device, knotted cords are placed through the readily accessibleexposed cord attachment aperture and distally slid into the slot. Uponremoval of the locking pin, the cords are automatically reeled insidethe device to a pre-determined and/or indexably controlled length.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,626, issued Dec. 31, 1996 to Dah-Rong Yang,discloses a wire winding and collecting device for winding andcollecting a long string wire. The winding and collecting deviceincludes a spring for asserting a rotation force. The winding andcollecting device further includes a bi-level both-end type of wirecollector which includes a bottom collecting ridge and a top collectionridge divided by a dividing surface. The dividing surface includes anopening for inserting the wire therethrough at a mid-point on the wirefor wrapping a first portion of the wire around the bottom collectingridge and a second portion opposite the first portion from the mid-pointaround the top collecting ridge. The winding and collecting devicefurther includes a rotation axial shaft inserted through an axialopening disposed on the central portion of the spring and the collector.The spring asserts a rotation force on the bottom collect ridge torotate for collecting the wire from a first end of the wire and thespring further asserts a rotation force on the top collecting ridge torotate for collecting the wire from a second end of the wire oppositethe first end.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,108, issued May 21, 1968 to George R. Kern Jr.,indicates a spring-driven type reel wherein selected pull and release onthe member wound thereon permits locking the reel in particular unwoundposition or permits complete or selected rewind.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,638, issued Feb. 07, 1989 to Marilyn S. Burger, andJohn M. McKee, claims a cord stowage device which includes a spoolhaving a channel through which a cable slidably passes from one side ofthe spool to the other side of the spool. First and second cup-shapedmembers are attached to respective ends of the spool. Eachcup-shaped-member includes a concave surface which faces toward thespool and the other cup-shaped member such that the first and secondmembers grasp the cable as it enters the stowage device and as it exitsthe stowage device. The stowage device is positioned at the desiredposition on the cable by sliding the cable therethrough. When thestowage device reached the desired position on the cable, any excessslack cable in wound around the spool of the stowage device.

What is needed is an easy-to-use, self-winding, user load-in cordreeling device that automatically winds and unwinds the cord to anydesired length and is relatively inexpensive and enables a user to loadin the user's own cord which has already been supplied by the maker ofthe electronic equipment so the user can wind up the cord for storageand unwind the cord to any desired length for use with an electronicdevice, such as a hands-free cord for a cell phone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use,self-winding, user load-in cord reeling device that automatically windsand unwinds the cord to any desired length and is relatively inexpensiveand enables a user to load in the user's own cord which has already beensupplied by the maker of the electronic equipment so the user can windup the cord for storage and unwind the cord to any desired length foruse with an electronic device, such as a hands-free cord for a cellphone.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cord reelingdevice for many kinds of flexible cords, cables, strings or wires, butis primarily intended for most hands free sets for cell phones and mostearphones for portable electronic devices which device is unique becauseit allows the user to manage most existing cords that are provided withportable electronic devices and cell phones.

One more object of the present invention is to provide a cord reelingdevice in which, after a user loads a user's existing cord into thedevice, a spring-loaded reel with a mechanism that arrests the rotationof a reel drum when the cord is fully extended and when desired at anylength, and very easily by pulling on the two ends of the cord thearresting mechanism is released and the reel turns easily to allow auser to extend the cord to any length with the arresting mechanismholding the cord at the desired length, and then by tugging the ends ofthe cord, the arresting mechanism is released and the reel automaticallywinds up the cord by the action of a coil spring attached to the reel.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a drum ofthe reel with a cord retaining clip attached to the reel and a cordreceiving slot between the cord retaining clip and the surface of thedrum to admit a mid portion of a cord looped over the retaining clipinto the receiving slot to secure the mid portion of the cord to thedrum so that as the drum turns it winds up the cord from the center in adouble coil.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pair of coilswith each coil on an opposite side of the drum spaced apart from thedrum with one coil aligned with a top half of the drum for receiving andretaining one extending end of the cord to guide it to wind around a tophalf of the drum and the other coil aligned with a bottom half of thedrum for receiving and retaining the other end of the cord to guide itto wind around a bottom half of the drum.

One additional object of the present invention is to provide a load-inreel so that the user loads an existing cord into the cord reel device,which would be spring-loaded and have a mechanism that would arrest therotation of the drum when the cord is fully extended and when desired atany extended length of the cord, which arresting mechanism very easilyreleases the drum so that the coiled spring rotates the reel to wind upthe cord.

In brief, a drum rotates around a post with a coiled spring therebetweento rotate the drum with the spring under tension to wind a cord aroundthe drum. A cord retaining clip attached to the reel and a cordreceiving slot between the cord retaining clip and the surface of thedrum admits a mid portion of an existing cord owned by a user which cordmid portion is looped over the retaining clip into the receiving slot tosecure the mid portion of the cord to the drum so that as the drum turnsit winds up the cord from the center in a double coil.

A top coil spaced apart from an upper half of the drum on one sidereceives, retains and guides one extending end of the cord to windaround a top half of the drum. A bottom coil spaced apart from a lowerhalf of the drum on the other side receives, retains and guides theother extending end of the cord to wind around a bottom half of thedrum. Another feature of the coils is that they allow a cord to beloaded in and contained without passively slipping out.

The present invention provides a cord reeling device for many kinds offlexible cords, cables, strings or wires, but is primarily intended formost hands free sets for cell phones and most earphones for portableelectronic devices. This device is unique because it allows the user tomanage most existing cords that are provided with portable electronicdevices and cell phones without having to purchase another cord asrequired by most prior art cord winding reels which come with their owncords.

The device can be pretensioned by the factory or tensioned by the user.Once the cord has been loaded into the tensioned device, the drum isreleased by the user, and the extended cord ends are reeled onto thedrum. The user extends the cord by pulling the two extending ends of thecord evenly out. There are a variety of means for arresting the drumonce the cord has been extended, including a variety of friction holdingmeans and a ball in groove means with circular free wheeling groovestraveled by the ball and an offshoot groove having a stop elementblocking the groove to stop the ball and arrest the rotation of the drumin a desired location.

An advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates tangle forexisting cords.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it enables anexisting cord owned by a user to be coiled up for storage and uncoiledto any desired length for use of the cord attached to an electronicdevice.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it isinexpensive to make.

One more advantage of the present invention is that it is inexpensive topurchase and enables use with an existing cord already owned by theuser.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to usewith a simple receiving slot to load a cord onto the reel and a springreturn to wind up the cord.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that it is adaptablefor use with a variety of existing cord types.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of my invention will be described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way ofillustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in whichdrawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the presentinvention aligned for assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drum of the present invention withthe bottom open showing the coiled spring inside the drum and theflanges extending out from the top and bottom of the drum;

FIG. 3 is a partial front elevational view of the drum of the presentinvention showing the cord receiving opening and cord retaining clip;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the drum of the presentinvention showing a mid-section of a cord as it is initially looped overthe cord retaining clip into the cord receiving slot;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the drum of the present invention showing amid-section of a cord looped over the cord retaining clip and into thecord receiving slot and one extending end of the cord looped around thefront of the clip and through a spaced cord guiding coil on one side ofthe reel and the other extending end of the cord wound around the drumin the same direction 270 degrees to the other cord guiding coil;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the drum showing how the firstextending end of the cord of FIG. 5 is looped in front of the retainingclip and winds to the right along the top of the reel to the first cordguiding coil aligned with a top half of the drum and the secondextending end of the cord winds around the bottom of the drum in thesame direction three-fourths of the way around the drum to the othercord guiding coil aligned with a bottom half of the drum;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cord reel of the present inventionwith a cord with a cell phone-type earpiece and plug fully wound ontothe reel, and a clothing clip which is usually attached to hands freecords is shown slid to the earpiece/microphone end of the cord;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the cord reel of FIG. 7 with acord with a cell phone-type earpiece and plug wound onto the reel and anadditional lanyard-type handle attached to the bottom of the reel;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the top of an alternate embodiment ofthe drum of the present invention with three tiers of flanges formaintaining round cross-section cords in the two tracks formed betweenthe three tiers of flanges, the forward edges of the top and bottomflanges flared out to help guide the cord into the proper track, andshowing the cord receiving slot and the cord retaining clip and a groovealong a top surface of the drum for engaging with a mating half of astop mechanism under the cap of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment ofthe reel of the drum of FIG. 9 with three tiers of flanges formaintaining round cords shown in cross-section in the two tracks formedbetween the three tiers of flanges, the forward edges of the top andbottom flanges flared out to help guide the cord into the proper track,and showing the base extending lower to accommodate the flared forwardedges of the bottom flanges.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1-10, a cord reeling device for receiving an existing cord 30and 30A installed by a user comprises a spring-loaded reel 20 with acord attaching opening 24 and cord retaining clip 23 and cord guidingcoils 25 to guide two extending ends of a cord 30 attached to the reelat the mid point to wind around a top and a bottom of a rotating drum21.

In FIG. 1, the reel 20 comprises a base 5 and a cap 10 interconnected bya post 9 by a threaded connector 3 in a threaded bottom opening 7 in thepost. A cylindrical housing or drum 21 surrounds and rotates freelyaround the post 9. The drum 21 has a cylindrical outer surface forreceiving a cord 30 wound around the drum. The drum is sandwichedbetween the cap 10 and the base 5. The post 9, which is preferably partof the cap unit, passes through a hole 17 in the top of the drum, andthen finally passes through a hole 4 in the center of the base and isfixed to the base by the threaded connector 3.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a coiled spring 19, such as a clock spring, connectsbetween the post 9 and the drum 21 so that the spring causes the drum torotate around the post to wind a cord around the drum. The post 9further comprises a spring receiving slot 8 vertically along a portionof the length of the post and the drum 21 further comprises a springreceiving slot 18, as seen in FIG. 2, and the coiled spring 19 furthercomprises an outside hook portion of the coiled spring engaged in thespring receiving slot 18 of the drum 21 and an inside hook portion ofthe coiled spring engaged in the spring receiving slot 8 of the post 9.

A means for retaining a cord 30 wound around the drum 21 comprises aseries of upper flanges 22 extending outwardly from the drum 21 aroundan upper perimeter of the drum and a mating series of lower flanges 22extending outwardly from the a bottom of the drum around a bottomperimeter of the drum, the upper and lower flanges 22 spaced apart asufficient distance to retain a length of cord 30 therebetween with thecord wound around the drum.

In FIGS. 1 and 3-6, a cord receiving opening 24 and 24A and 24B in thedrum 21 receives a mid section of a cord 30 and a cord retaining clip 23is the means for retaining a mid section of a cord in the cord receivingopening. Two extending cord ends 30A and 30B protrude from the drum andan upper cord receiving opening 24A is a means for allowing an extensiona first extending cord end 30A out along a top half of the drum, asshown in FIG. 6 and a full length cord receiving opening 24B on theother side of the cord retaining clip 23 is a means for allowing anextension of the second extending cord end 30B out along a bottom halfof the drum with both extending cord ends 30A and 30B winding in a samedirection around the drum, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The cord receiving openings 24A and 24B open through a cord mountingportion of the drum 21 comprising the cord receiving openings 24A and24B and the cord retaining clip 23 positioned centrally in the cordreceiving opening 24 so that a midsection of a cord may be looped overthe cord retaining clip, as shown in FIG. 4, and inserted in the cordreceiving opening 24. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the first extending cord end 30Aextends out of the top cord receiving opening 24A on a first side of thecord retaining clip 23 and around an outside of the cord retaining clipand along an upper portion of the drum and through the first coil 25A,and a second extending cord end 30B extends out of a bottom of the cordreceiving opening 24B on a second side of the cord retaining clip 23 andalong a bottom portion of the drum in the same direction as the firstextending end of the cord, as shown in FIG. 6, and winds around thebottom half of the drum through the second coil 25B on the other side ofthe reel, as shown in FIG. 5. Each half of the cord winds around adifferent half of the drum in the same direction as the drum rotates toretract an entire cord around the drum to any desired length, as seen inFIGS. 7 and 8, wherein a cord 30 with a cell phone-type earpiece 50 andplug 40 is fully wound onto the reel, and a clothing clip 60 which isusually attached to hands free cords is shown slid to theearpiece/microphone end of the cord. The cord retaining clip 23 preventsthe cord from slipping off the drum with the cord fully extended foruse, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In FIGS. 1 and 5-8, a pair of coils 25A and 25B serve as the means forguiding the two extending cord ends 30A and 30B so that the firstextending end 30A in coil 25A winds around an upper half of the drum 2land the second extending cord end 30B in coil 25B winds around a lowerhalf of the drum. The coils are each on an elongated arm 15 extendingfrom each of two opposing sides of the reel, each arm having an outercoil 25A and 25B having a center opening for receiving and retaining aportion of a cord wound into the coil. The first outer coil 25Apositioned adjacent to a top half of the reel, as seen in FIG. 6, guidesthe first extending cord end 30A to wind around the top half of the drumas the drum rotates and the second outer coil 25B positioned adjacent toa bottom half of the reel guides a second extending cord end to windaround the bottom half of the drum as the drum rotates.

A means for releasably retaining the drum in a stationary position maycomprise a friction means or a ball 13 in grooves under the cap 10 andat least one groove 6 on a top surface of the drum 21. The cord 30 maybe extended to any desired length so that pulling on the two extendingcord end uncoils the cord to any desired length until the drum retainingmeans is engaged and releasing the drum retaining means with the cordextended allows the coiled spring to rotate the drum and wind up thecord.

The cord retaining clip 23 further comprises a cord retaining clipflange extending outwardly from the drum in alignment with the upperflanges 22.

In FIG. 8, a reel attaching means 29, such as a lanyard handle or clipattached to the base 5 by a removable clamp 2 can be used to attach thereel to the clothing or other item of a user.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, an alternate embodiment of the drum 21 A comprisesanother series of flanges 22 extending outwardly from the drum midwaybetween the upper flanges 22 and the lower flanges 22 thereby formingthree layers of flanges and creating two cord winding guide tracksbetween the three layers for retaining round cross-section cords 30A inupper and lower halves of the drum. The forward edges 70 of the flanges22 may be flared out to assist in guiding the extending cord ends intothe appropriate half of the drum.

The components of the reel are preferably fabricated of a rugged moldedsynthetic material for inexpensive and rapid large scale production.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by wayof illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that variousmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as claimed.

1. A cord reeling device for receiving an existing cord installed by auser, the device comprising: a reel comprising a base and a capinterconnected by a post, a cylindrical housing or drum surrounding androtating freely around the post, the drum having a cylindrical outersurface for receiving a cord wound around the drum, a spring connectedbetween the post and the drum so that the spring causes the drum torotate around the post to wind a cord around the drum, a means forretaining a cord wound around the drum, a cord receiving opening in thedrum for receiving a mid section of a cord and a means for retaining amid section of a cord in the cord receiving opening with two extendingcord ends protruding from the drum and a means for allowing an extensionof a first extending cord end out along a top half of the drum and ameans for allowing an extension of a second extending cord end out alonga bottom half of the drum with both extending cord ends winding in asame direction around the drum, a means for guiding the two extendingcord ends so that the first extending end winds around an upper half ofthe drum and the second extending cord end winds around a lower half ofthe drum, and a means for releasably retaining the drum in a stationaryposition with the cord extending to any desired length so that pullingon the two extending ends of the cord uncoils the cord to any desiredlength until the drum retaining means is engaged and releasing the drumretaining means with the cord extended allows the coiled spring torotate the drum and wind up the cord.
 2. The device of claim 1 whereinthe means for retaining a cord wound around the drum comprises a seriesof upper flanges extending outwardly from the drum around an upperperimeter of the drum and a mating series of lower flanges extendingoutwardly from the a bottom of the drum around a bottom perimeter of thedrum, the upper and lower flanges spaced apart a sufficient distance toretain a length of cord therebetween with the cord wound around thedrum.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein a cord mounting opening in thedrum for receiving a mid section of a cord and a means for retaining amid section of a cord in the cord mounting opening with two extendingcord ends protruding from the drum and a means for allowing an extensionof a first extending cord end out along a top half of the drum and ameans for allowing an extension of the second extending cord end outalong a bottom half of the drum with both extending cord ends winding ina same direction around the drum comprise a cord mounting portion of thedrum comprising a cord receiving opening and a cord retaining clippositioned centrally in the cord receiving opening so that a midsectionof a cord may be looped over the cord retaining clip and inserted in thecord receiving opening so that a first extending end of the cord extendsout of a top of the cord receiving opening on a first side of the cordretaining clip and around an outside of the cord retaining clip andalong an upper portion of the drum and through the first coil and asecond extending end of the cord extends out of a bottom of the cordreceiving opening on a second side of the cord retaining clip and alonga bottom portion of the drum in the same direction as the firstextending end of the cord and winds around the bottom half of the drumthrough the second coil on the other side of the reel, so that each halfof the cord winds around a different half of the drum in the samedirection as the drum rotates to wind an entire cord around the drum toany desired length, the cord retaining clip preventing the cord fromslipping off the drum with the cord fully extended.
 4. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the means for guiding two extending ends of a cord sothat one of the extending ends winds around an upper half of the drumand the other of the extending ends winds around a lower half of thedrum comprises an elongated arm extending from each of two opposingsides of the reel, the arm comprising an outer coil having a centeropening for receiving and retaining a portion of a cord wound into thecoil, a first outer coil positioned adjacent to a top half of the reelfor guiding a first extending end of the cord to wind around the tophalf of the drum as the drum rotates and a second outer coil positionedadjacent to a bottom half of the reel for guiding a second extending endof the cord to wind around the bottom half of the drum as the drumrotates.
 5. A cord reeling device for receiving an existing cordinstalled by a user, the device comprising: a reel comprising a base anda cap interconnected by a post, a cylindrical housing or drumsurrounding and rotating freely around the post, the drum having acylindrical outer surface for receiving a cord wound around the drum anda central opening therethrough to receive the post, a coiled springconnected between the post and the drum so that the coiled spring undertension causes the drum to rotate around the post to wind a cord aroundthe drum, a series of upper flanges extending outwardly from the drumaround a perimeter of the drum and a mating series of lower flangesextending outwardly from the bottom of the drum around a perimeter ofthe drum, the upper and lower flanges spaced apart a sufficient distanceto retain a length of cord therebetween with the cord wound around thedrum, an elongated arm extending from each of two opposing sides of thereel, the arm comprising an outer coil having a center opening forreceiving and retaining a portion of a cord wound into the coil, a firstouter coil positioned adjacent to a top half of the reel for guiding afirst extending cord end to wind around the top half of the drum as thedrum rotates and a second outer coil positioned adjacent to a bottomhalf of the reel for guiding a second extending cord end to wind aroundthe bottom half of the drum as the drum rotates, a cord mounting portionof the drum comprising a cord receiving opening and a cord retainingclip positioned centrally in the cord receiving opening so that amidsection of a cord may be looped over the cord retaining clip andinserted in the cord receiving opening so that a first extending cordend extends out of a top of the cord receiving opening on a first sideof the cord retaining clip and around an outside of the cord retainingclip and along an upper portion of the drum and through the first coiland a second extending cord end extends out of a bottom of the cordreceiving opening on a second side of the cord retaining clip and alonga bottom portion of the drum in the same direction as the firstextending end of the cord and winds around the bottom half of the drumthrough the second coil on the other side of the reel, so that each halfof the cord winds around a different half of the drum in the samedirection as the drum rotates to wind an entire cord around the drum toany desired length, the cord retaining clip preventing the cord fromslipping off the drum with the cord fully extended, and a means forreleasably retaining the drum in a stationary position with the cordextending to any desired length so that pulling on the two extendingends of the cord uncoils the cord to any desired length until the drumretaining means is engaged and releasing the drum retaining means withthe cord extended allows the coiled spring to rotate the drum and windup the cord.
 6. The device of claim 5 wherein the cord retaining clipfurther comprises a cord retaining clip flange extending outwardly fromthe drum in alignment with the upper flanges.
 7. The device of claim 5wherein the cord insertion space comprises a top opening on a first sideof the cord retaining clip for guiding the first extending cord end tothe top of the drum and a full-length opening on a second side of thecord retaining clip for guiding the second extending cord end to thebottom of the drum.
 8. The device of claim 5 wherein the post furthercomprises a spring receiving slot and the drum further comprises aspring receiving slot and the coiled spring further comprises an outsidehook portion of the coiled spring engaged in the spring receiving slotof the drum and an inside hook portion of the coiled spring engaged inthe spring receiving slot of the post.
 9. The device of claim 5 furthercomprising another series of flanges extending outwardly from the drummidway between the upper flanges and the lower flanges thereby formingthree layers of flanges and creating two cord winding guide tracksbetween the three layers.
 10. The device of claim 5 further comprising areel attaching means connected to the reel for attaching the reel to theclothing or other item of a user.